Tieng Viet lovers club

[jackbl]

Inside massage parlors: More than just money
================================================== ==

They work for money – yes, but often the money goes to supporting their loved ones in rural areas who know nothing about their job. And yes, sometimes a flower is more precious than all the money they can get.


Sadness

One day, Thuy, an employee at the massage parlor TN in Binh Duong Province, rushed out of the massage room, her face full of tears, and in one hand were her high-heeled shoes. Wiping the tears with the other hand, she cried angrily: “Damned the bastard. He squeezed my breasts so hard.”

Standing nearby, the manager of the parlor said nonchalantly, “Why haven’t I ever seen you cry when receiving their tips. How can you get money from them without putting up with their abuse?”

A strange silence suddenly reigned in the room with over 40 girls, a silence of resignation.

When I first came to the place to apply for a job, I was told the masseuses working there were allowed to go out just once a month for six hours.

Although psychologically prepared for the worst situation and assured of my colleagues’ plan for a “rescue operation” in case I was subjected to extreme exploitation, brutal beating or confinement, I could not help but feel a chill running down my spine when walking along a dark, stuffy corridor past a long line of girls momentarily turning their dull eyes, empty, sleep-deprived faces towards me.

“Here, one more masseuse means one more rival to compete with, fewer clients to serve, less food to go around, and less personal space for sleeping and using the rest room,” a friendly girl named Thuy told me.

In the massage parlor on Su Van Hanh Street, however, the masseuses seemed to get a little bit more breathing space. They work for 12 hours a day and are allowed to go home.

They have time to go shopping and drinking. They even come to bars and stay there till midnight.

One day, My, a masseuse in the massage parlor L took me to a beer restaurant. She kept finishing one glass of beer after another. Apparently, she wanted to get something off her chest and needed someone to talk to.

“Yesterday evening, I met my boyfriend in my massage room.

“Astonished to find me there, he shouted at me angrily, ‘So you are a massage girl?’ before running out of the room,” My told me.

“I’m a massage girl, so what? If he despises us, then why did he bother to seek us out in these places?”

I couldn’t answer her question. I just remembered the common piece of advice all the masseuses give to one another, “Never tell your family or friends about the job you do here. They would never want to look at us again.”

After that day, My began to go to bars more often with other girls after work and even experimented with some drugs.

There are many reasons why these young women ended up working in this profession – some because they needed money to support their husband and children in the rural areas, some to help their parents fix a run-down house about to collapse, and for others it is the price they pay for leading a life of endless wild parties and booze.

Vy, a masseuse from parlor L, has a 5-year-old son who has been separated from her for the last four years and has been living with her parents all those years.

She called him on her cell phone every once in a while when she was drunk. After the conversation, she seemed to have become a different person, just sitting motionless, staring into the empty space, with tears rolling down her powdered cheeks.


Flowers of hope

At massage parlor on Kha Van Can Street in Thu Duc District, the masseuses each have a small notebook to keep record of the tips they earn each day.

Some of them also write down in the book one line or two about their feelings and thinking.

For Ly, she likes drawing flowers in her notebook whenever she feels sad. She said she loved drawing since she was young.

In her notebook, one can see the amount of tips, 50,000 – 100,000 – 200,000, and a series of clumsily drawn flowers.

“I was born to a poor family. My parents could only afford to let me study at school until the 11th grade. After school, I got married and moved in to live with his family until he got addicted to drinking and started abusing me.

“My life has only two memorable dates – the day I got married at 19 and the day I divorced my husband at 21 and left for Saigon,” she said.

In the past three years, Ly twice went home to visit her mother and son. Each time she had to arrange for her mother to take her son to live in a hotel with her for a week in her home town of Bac Lieu before returning to her job in Saigon.

Her husband had threatened “not to let her live in peace and safety,” Ly said.

“My life starts on the rice fields and ends up working in this business. I can’t remember how many parlors I have worked for in Saigon and how many men I have helped ‘relax’.”

“Should you ever be hired to work on the rice fields under the sun light for a whole day but cannot earn enough to buy food for your children, should you ever experience the situation of nursing your sick child for many days and can’t borrow enough money to take him to the hospital, you will understand why I accept my life here.

“Here I live in an air-conditioned room, wear perfume and have enough money to buy my mother and my child any kind of food they like,” Ly said.

Her voice, however, became heavy with sadness at the end of her story, “Sometimes when I’m walking on the street and someone gives me a strange look, I feel so much self-pity. I wonder if the words ‘massage girl’ have been branded on my forehead.”

During her story, Ly mentioned a man named Bao, a customer who has been trying to win her heart for the last few months.

“Bao is one of the gangsters at Lam Hong Bus Station in Ho Chi Minh City. Sometimes, he bought seven tickets in a row to stay in the room with me until the next morning, just to talk and hear me talk, without asking me to do anything for him,” Ly said.

Her face lit up with a radiant smile when she mentioned his name.

“Sometimes Bao gave me VND500,000, sometimes one million or even two million.

“But just like all the men who come here, he thought we only want and care about money. If he had presented me a flower, even a daisy flower,(*) my heart would probably have fallen for him long ago.”

Happiness for Ly is so simple that few can imagine. A daisy flower from a man is enough to sweep her off her feet and lift her heart to heights above the grime and slime of the place she has no wish to be in.

(*) In Vietnam, daisy flowers are usually offered on the altars during funerals or ceremonies to honor someone’s death.

[jackbl]

Is prostitution entirely bad?
===================================

On June 28 in Quang Ninh, at a conference on anti-prostitution program 2011-2015, deputy Prime Minister Truong Vinh Trong said: “[Prostitution] should be considered as a phenomenon rather than a social evil.”


This can be regarded as a positive sign in the change of government perspectives on prostitution. Up to now, the society and community still prejudice prostitution as going against traditional ethics. Those who use their flesh to earn a living are stigmatized with bad names.

Negative conception and behavior by the community towards prostitutes are supported when the authorities regard it as a kind of social evil. Women involved in this career are seized by police and brought to re-education centers. The Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social affairs used to have an anti-social evil office to administrate these centers.

Such social behaviors and the fear to be arrested and prejudiced make prostitutes hesitate to approach prevention services like tests, treatment aids, and condom provision. The victims then feel isolated and insulted. Their self-respect is lowered and they become tired of living. The girls living by this career become more careless and dangerous.

Many of them have a tendency to revenge life and become a factor that disseminate risks and spread sexual diseases including HIV/AIDS. According to statistics, the ratio of HIV/AIDS among prostitutes in Hai Phong city is 23 percent. In Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi, the figure is 20 and 16 percent respectively.

Changing perspectives on prostitutes will contribute to the diminution of prejudice and make it favorable for them to approach sexual health care service and practice safe sex.

When prostitution is no longer regarded as a social evil, the government should propagandize the change so that the community will be aware and treat prostitutes as normal human beings. In our opinions, besides prostitution, other phenomenon such as drug addiction, gambling, alcoholism should not be considered as social evils. We should regard them as social issues that need to be solved. Many countries in the world also hardly regard these as social evils.

At the conference, Mr. Truong Vinh Trong viewed this new issue from a new perspective: “The world avoids sending women into re-education centers as such administrative compulsory method has become ineffective. In Vietnam, people have taken a more positive look on those with HIV/AIDS as well as prostitutes.”

In reality, social problems always exist and they increase or decrease depending on socio-economic situation, management potential throughout different eras.

Issues like prostitutions, gambling, drugs have existed for years in history. Like a demand-supply rule, no nation is exempt from these issues. No nation can eradicate totally prostitution, gambling or drugs. The point is that there should be a social method to limit the growth and prevent bad affects of these social issues.

Hoang Ba Thinh (professor at University of Social Science and Humanities in Hanoi)

[jackbl]

HCMC abortion rate highest in the country
===============================================

The Ho Chi Minh City's Population and Family Planning Center last Saturday announced that the city has the highest abortion rate in the country with more than 98,000 cases in 2010, tripling the average national figure.

It is estimated that there are 75 babies aborted for every 100 babies born.

Even though the abortion rate is lower than in 2009, it stills remain a remarkable number.

Also according to the center, Ho Chi Minh City is experiencing a golden population period with five million people at working age (15-60 years old), accounting for 68 percent in the demography.

However, there is still sex imbalance in the newborns with the ratio of 109 boys for every 100 girls.

[jackbl]

Vietnamese charged for severing husband's penis
================================================== =

A California woman was charged with torture on Wednesday after authorities said she cut off her husband's penis with a kitchen knife and ground it up in a garbage disposal.

Catherine Kieu, 48, is accused of tying her sleeping husband to a bed with nylon ropes, pulling down his pants and slicing off his penis, the Orange County District Attorney's Office said in a written statement.

The Garden Grove woman then took the severed penis into the kitchen, threw it into the garbage disposal and turned it on, mutilating the organ, Orange County prosecutors said.

She then called 911, they said.

Kieu, who was taken into custody at the scene on Monday night, was charged with one count each of torture and aggravated mayhem, with sentencing enhancements for causing great bodily injury and using a knife.

During a brief court appearance on Wednesday, an Orange County Superior Court judge assigned a public defender to represent Kieu and postponed her arraignment on the charges until July 22.

Kieu, who is being held without bail, faces a maximum sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole if convicted.

Orange County prosecutors say the incident followed an argument between Kieu and her 60-year-old husband, who has not been identified by authorities, over friends staying at the residence.

Garden Grove police say Kieu, who was initially identified as Catherine Kieu Becker, told officers who responded to the 911 call and found her husband tied to the bed and bleeding from the groin that he "deserved it."

Police have also said she may have drugged or poisoned her husband's food to make him sleepy and that the couple, who married in late 2009, was involved in divorce proceedings.

Kieu's husband was taken to the nearby University of California, Irvine Medical Center following the attack, where he underwent emergency surgery and was listed in serious condition,

[jackbl]

Is it time for accepting same-sex marriage in Vietnam?
================================================== =======

VietNamNet Bridge – Homosexuality has been mentioned in Vietnam for a decade. Though it is not officially recognized, “the third world” has become a part of the Vietnamese society. However, it would be a long way for homosexual marriage to be recognized by the law.

In late 2010, a video clip of a wedding ceremony of two women in Hanoi was posted on the internet. The video immediately caused a stir in the online community and the public. This is the first homosexual couple who organized the first public wedding party in Vietnam. In early June 2010, a gay couple in HCM City organized their wedding publicly.

The two homosexual weddings highly attracted the public. Some said that these are good signs for an opener society. Some others argued that this is ebullience and imitation of some young people.

VietNamNet discusses this issue with experts.

Le Quang Binh, Director of the Institute for Social, Economic and Environmental Research:

Homosexual love and marriage are still “sensitive” in Vietnam, with different opinions. This issue has especially captured the public’s attention after the weddings of two homosexual couples.

There are two noteworthy viewpoints: National Assembly deputy, Prof. Nguyen Minh Thuyet said that Vietnam should have the law on homosexual marriage soon, while Doctor of Sociology Trinh Hoa Binh, who said that homosexuality is not recognized in Vietnam yet and it is necessary to “analyze to help them understand that they have mistaken, aped of homosexuality… and then gradually getting them back to normal”.

The two above viewpoints are spoken out by two prestigious people in society and they are posted on the media so they certainly make influence to the society. I think we need to make clear analysis about this.

Dr. Khuat Thu Hong, Co-director of the Institute for Social Development and Research: It is a high cost to be a gay or a lesbian in Vietnam. Why do they have to accept social discrimination or even their parents’ abandon to be gays or lesbians? Why they have to pay for that if they do not really want it. There are homosexual people in Vietnam confined and even beaten by their parents when the parents discovered the truth.

Dr. Le Bach Duong, Co-director of the Institute for Social Development and Research: in Vietnam, information on the media is mainstream, which is very influential in society. If reporters are not cautious in reporting news about homosexuality, homosexual people could be seen as second-grade citizens, who have troubles with morality and are dangerous for the society.

From the two recent same-sex marriages, discussions on whether our society accepts this or not and if it is accepted, is there any legal framework for it?

Both the two above viewpoints by Mr. Thuyet and Mr. Binh; we need further scientific analysis. Personally, I think Mr. Binh’s statement is groundless and anti-scientific when he said that. It is necessary to analyze to help them understand that they have mistaken, aped of homosexuality… and then gradually getting them back to normal.

This is very dangerous, which can lead to the intervention of the state, the society and families to the life of homosexual people, which is very offensive for them.

Prof. Thuyet’s opinion is worthy for discussion because it is a real issue of the today society.

Q: The US has open viewpoints and same-sex marriage has been discussed in this country for a long time. Until June 24 2011, same-sex marriage wasn’t officially recognized in New York. Is it too early to discuss it in Vietnam?

Dr. Khuat Thu Hong: there are a lot difference in social and cultural institutions between Vietnam and the US. In Vietnam, people’s knowledge of sex in general and homosexuality is still limited.

In Vietnam, lack of knowledge is the major hindrance for the legalization of same-sex marriage while in the US, it is religion. Many states in the US have strict religious viewpoints. For example, Catholics protests same-sex marriage. The recognition of same-sex marriage in some states depends on the will of local constituents. The fact in the US is not related much to social and scientific aspects but political aspect.

Dr. Le Bach Duong: Vietnam is not influenced much by religions like in the US. Vietnamese are mainly Buddhist followers. I see the viewpoint of Buddhism is very flexible, not distinguishing clearly between right and wrong. “There is black in white and white in black”. I believe that recognizing a new conception will not face big hurdles.

Dr. Nguyen Thi Thu Nam, Institute for Health Strategy and Policy: There are organizations protesting same-sex marriage and homosexuality in even the US and Canada. In these countries, conflicts of belief, religions and human being values are even harsher than in Vietnam.

In Vietnam, many people still question whether homosexuality is a disease and can it spread in the society?

Though same-sex marriage has just become legal in New York but in 1973, the American Psychological Federation rejected homosexuality from the list of mental diseases. The World Health Organization did the same in 1980.

Q: Do you think of social response when you publicly support same-sex marriage?

Dr. Khuat Thu Hong: Bastard children were not legal in the past. Only children of legal couples were granted with birth certificates. But the society has changed and children born out of wedlock have been recognized and protected by the law like others.

People make laws so the law needs to be amended to meet the development of the society. It is like a growing-up child who needs new shirts. There is no law that satisfies all but it does not mean that it cannot be changed.

Dr. Le Bach Duong: there is a fact that many clubs for homosexual people have been opened in many provinces and cities in Vietnam, sponsored by local health departments. It means that the Health Ministry does make it legal but relevant agencies understand and they have open moves.

Dr. Nguyen Thi Thu Nam: The law is to protect people’s interests. There is still misunderstanding and wrong actions against homosexuality. It is not appropriate to a civilized society.

Q: But long-standing conception of Vietnam in particular and Oriental culture in general is marriage to have children to maintain race. If same-sex marriage is legalized, it will be contrary to this traditional conception?

Dr. Le Bach Duong: Law-makers often complain that homosexuality raises difficulties for them. But I think law-makers cause difficulties for themselves.

Homosexual people are not subjects who disturb or harm our society. Once same-sex marriage become legal, it would help homosexual people to live in more responsible and stable manner.

Dr. Nguyen Thi Thu Nam: The two first same-sex weddings urge people to think seriously of the value of same-sex marriage. In fact, there are many homosexual couples live together as families. It shows their need to make commitment of long-term marriage.

Dr. Khuat Thu Hong: Homosexual people who want to get married are very responsible. They want to be equal like others. Moreover, there is a very small ratio of homosexual people in our society so we do not have to be worry of maintaining race. We can still have enough children and with the development of medical sciences, homosexual couples can still have their own children.

I think social conception will gradually change because any conception must serve people’s happiness.

Gays and lesbians are part of our society and they wish to be recognized by the society and be equal with others; and we, sociologists, think that it’s time to change. The law needs to be change to catch up with social development.

Hoang Huong

[jackbl]

Vietnamese can think of many ways to do biz and earn $$$

University entrance exam season brings big money to poor students
================================================== =========

VietNamNet Bridge – Instead of returning to home villages, a lot of university students stay in big cities in summer holiday to take extra jobs to make money. July, when the university entrance exams take place, is the good working season for students.


The dynamic students

Despite the hot weather and the summer heat, Linh, the third year student of the Hanoi University of Education, always begins her working day very early in the morning. There a simple job that Linh and her friends regularly do every summer-- selling the copies of the answers to university entrance exam subjects.

On the morning of July 4, when students took the mathematics exam, Linh and some students from the Hanoi University of Technology and University of Transport gathered in front of an exam room in Hoang Mai district. They waited to meet the first examinee who came out of the exam room. Right after getting the mathematics questions from the examinee, Linh and the friends joined forces to solve the problems as soon as they could, then printed the answers, made copies and delivered the copies.

At 1 pm of the same day, Linh and the friends came to every exam room in the city to sell the answers to the mathematics questions at 5000 dong per copy.

“We have to pay 1000 dong per copy only, and we can pocket 4000 dong,” Linh revealed the profit.

Not only solving mathematics questions themselves, Linh and her friends also read websites and newspapers to update more accurate answers.

“By 9 pm of the same day, the answers to the questions had been updated on nearly all websites. The thing we need to do is download the answers and print them,” she said.

On average, a set of suggested answers can be sold at 15,000 dong. “A lot of students purchase the printed answers. They need them. Especially, the students, who could not solve the questions, also purchased the answered, which they will refer to when preparing for the next year’s exams,” Linh said.

Nguyen Phuong Manh, a student from Hai Duong, who is studying at the Hanoi University of Technology, said that the simple job in the short exam season can help him increase his income considerably. “Everything is getting more and more expensive nowadays. I have to earn more money to fund my study,” he said.

According to Manh, after the mathematics and physics exams, he and his friends could sell more than 300 sets of suggested answers. He said that he plans to deliver the papers on buses and coach stations to the students, who take buses and coaches to the home villages after the exam days.


Delivering leaflets, working as brokers

Phap luat’s reporters met Nguyen Thi Thuan, a second year student of the Hanoi University for Social Sciences and Humanity, when she was delivering the leaflets that advertise the enrolment plan of a school.

Thuan said that she and some friends got the job from a job center. Every day, Thuan comes to the center’s office, gets the leaflets and hear the instructions from coordinators. After that, they deliver the leaflets to students and their parents at exam rooms.

“A lot of schools do not organize entrance exams, but they still enroll students. Therefore, they have the demand for popularizing their training courses. We can earn 200,000-300,000 a day for every day of delivering,” Thuan said

Meanwhile, Manh, a student of the Trade University, is making money by introducing rooms for rent to students.

“You should go to the lodging near the house of my relative. The room there is large, with ceiling fan and desk. The rent is reasonable, just 100,000-150,000 dong,” he told a student.

The uniform Manh wears and his face make people think that he is a volunteer student. However, the owner of a tea shop said that Manh is really a broker. Every time, when Manh helps lodging owners get a client, he would get the commission of 50,000 dong.

PL

[Hurricane88]

Originally Posted by jackbl

Vietnamese can think of many ways to do biz and earn $$$

University entrance exam season brings big money to poor students
================================================== =========

was there last week and saw huge amount of ppl gathered around the entrance to the Uni...

[jackbl]

Getting high education is not easy in VN

Poor students stay lonely in front of universities
================================================== ==

VietNamNet Bridge – It’s not difficult to find the poor students who came to HCM City to attend the university entrance exams. Free lodgings, parishes, temples or houses of good landlords are now full of students, who have to go to big cities to attend exams with borrowed money.

Perturbation fills poor students’ mind

Right after arriving at the bus station at the Hang Xanh crossroad in HCM City, Nguyen Thi Hong from Lam Dong province luckily met volunteer students, who met and gave consultancy about free lodging. It cost her 170,000 dong to take a coach in Lam Dong to HCM City, and then take a bus and a taxi motorbike to the lodging.

Like other 200 poor students, Hong can get a bed at the free lodgings at Xay Dung Parish.

Hong said that she has registered to take the exams to the HCM City Finance and Marketing University, one of the schools which have the highest competition ratio in the south. The total number of students registering to attend exams to the university has reached 26,220, while the school will accept 1400 students only. As such, Hong will have to compete with 18 other students to obtain a seat at the university.

Meanwhile, international press agencies reported that the competition ratio of the famous US Harvard University was 1/6.9.

“I do not think that I will pass the exams, but studying at university level is my biggest dream in my life. Therefore, I must attend the exams,” Hong said. “If I fail the exams this year, I will repeat the exams the next year”.

Hong also said that she will attend the entrance exams to junior colleges which will come several days later after the university entrance exams. “If there are no free lodgings, I will have to return to my home village to wait for the next exams, because I do not have money to stay in the big city,” she said.

She related that 65 percent of her high school classmates plan to attend university entrance exams, but she thinks only a few will pass the exams. “If I pass the exams, my parents will have to take many extra works to get money to fund my study,” she said.

To Thi Bich Ngoc from Dong Nai province has also registered to study at the HCM City University for Finance and Marketing. She said that she has spent 27,000 dong to take a bus from Dong Nai to HCM City, even though she does not think she would pass the exams.

“80 percent of students in my class want to study further at universities, but I think only 20 percent of them can pass the exams. However, none of us wants to go to vocational schools,” she said. “Universities are always better than vocational schools”.

Children attend university entrance exams – the exploit of the poor

Like Hong and Ngoc, Mai Quoc Viet from Gia Lai province has also been nurturing the hope of passing the university entrance exams. After arriving in HCM City, Viet was luckily led to Nguyen Thi Quan’s house in Binh Thanh district, where he can stay for free on the exam days.

In general, a room in HCM City has the rent of 180,000-210,000 dong a day. Therefore, Viet feels lucky because he can save nearly one million dong in rental during the exam days.

“My mother does not want me to follow her to do agricultural works, because the works cannot bring enough money. I wish I can study at universities and get a job as an officer. If so, my parents will be proud of me,” he said.

“My parents have decided that I must study at universities or junior colleges. Therefore, if I fail the exams, I will repeat the exams the next years,” he added.

Viet’s mother collects farm produce from farmers to sell to enterprises, while Viet’s father carries goods to enterprises. Sometimes Viet helps the parents in their works, but he admitted that he really does not want to do the works.

Having children attending university entrance exams is really the “miracle” of the poor families. Nha, the mother of Kieu Thi Thu On, a Cham minority woman, said: “Only by studying at universities, will her life become better than mine”.

Huong Giang

[jackbl]

Be careful if u are buying fake license in vn....

1 more arrested in fake drivers’ license case
================================================== ==
The Can Tho city police yesterday arrested one more member of a major gang that allegedly sold more than forged 600 driver’s licenses in several Mekong Delta provinces.

Nguyen Ba Cong belonged to Bac Ninh Province north of Hanoi but lived in Binh Duong, they said.

In May they had arrested five other members -- Ngo Van Ho of Vinh Long Province, Duong Van Kim of Hau Giang, and Nguyen Dinh Sau, Nguyen Dinh Manh, and Tran Van Bay of Binh Duong.

Ho supplied the fake licenses while the others distributed them, Senior Lieutenant-Colonel Tran Quang Thang, deputy head of the Can Tho police’s security investigation division, said.

They had been operating since the middle of last year, he added.

On April 22, following a tip-off from the public, the police caught Ho with 18 forged licenses and a fake high-school graduation certificate in Vinh Long.

Simultaneously, other officers stopped a bus near the Can Tho Bridge to arrest Kim who was on it.

The two men then gave the police information that enabled them to track down and arrest Manh, Sau, and Bay.

All the licenses carried a forged signature of the deputy director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Transport, Duong Hong Thanh, the police said.

Other documents related to a driver’s license were also forged by the ring in every detail, including signatures and seals.

After getting a copy of the customer’s ID card and photos, they would deliver a fake license in just a couple of days, charging different rates depending on the nature of the license.

Some of the gang’s clients confessed to the police they had paid VND11.5 million (US$558) for a Grade E license for driving passenger vans.

For smaller vehicles, the price was lower.

Ho admitted to having a network in all delta provinces and selling hundreds of forged licenses.

Thang said preliminary investigations showed that the gang had sold more than 600 of them.

The police are continuing their investigation.

[PC1881]

Can someone kindly help with the following sentence?

Ngay 18&19 em nen cong an Singapore lam mot so  giay to.

[KangTuo]

Originally Posted by PC1881

Can someone kindly help with the following sentence?

Ngay 18&19 em nen cong an Singapore lam mot so  giay to.

what you asked her?

day 18&19 i therefore police sillypore do 1 document

[jackbl]

Now SGP can fly direct to HN on Jetstar liao

Jetstar Asia to offer flights between Singapore, HN
================================================== =

Low-cost carrier Jetstar Asia will expand its presence in Vietnam by launching a Singapore-Hanoi route this winter in addition to adding more flights between Singapore and Ho Chi Minh City next month.

The new services were confirmed by Jetstar Asia’s CEO Chong Phit Lian and Jetstar Group’s CEO Bruce Buchanan at their meeting with reporters in Hanoi on Thursday.

The fast-growing airline will offer four weekly flights between Singapore and Hanoi on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays as of December 15 (pending government approval).

It will also add a daily service to the Singapore-HCMC schedule from August 18, bringing the total number of flights on this route to three a day.

The Civil Aviation Administration of Vietnam (CAAV) told the Saigon Times Daily about Jetstar Asia’s plan to fly between Singapore and Hanoi last month, but did not clarify the date the carrier would launch this new route.

Buchanan said in a statement that the new services would target customers who are keen to try alternative low fares between Vietnam and Singapore, where they would be able to connect to 28 destinations in Asia Pacific.

Jetstar Asia CEO Chong said the new services would give Asia Pacific passengers better access to the Jetstar network, allowing them to use more services available in Jestar’s rapidly growing Singaporean hub.

Buchanan said the new service would complement and build upon the domestic flights currently offered by Jetstar Pacific in Vietnam.

With new services and increased frequencies, Jetstar will conduct 50 flights per week between Singapore and Vietnam, with almost 10,000 passengers moving between the two countries every week.

In total, the new services represent a 78 percent increase in the airline’s capacity between the two countries and enable the carrier to offer a total of more than 468,000
seats between the two destinations by the end of the year.

Jetstar now offers an all-inclusive one-way economy-class fare from VND770,692 for the Singapore-Hanoi service on Jetstar.com until 11:59 on July 15, 2011 unless seats sell out prior.

This discount air ticket is valid for travel from January 31 until March 6 next year and from March 30 until April 24, 2012.

In addition, Jetstar’s every day all-inclusive, one-way low fares from Hanoi to Singapore start from over VND1.81 million.

Jetstar now flies to more than 56 destinations in 17 countries and territories. Its pan-Asian network extends from Australia through Singapore, to Japan, China, and Vietnam. The airline also operates direct flights from Singapore to Auckland and Melbourne.

[jackbl]

Where road accidents are settled off the records
================================================== =====

On June 23 a dump truck suddenly crashed into the back of another truck on National Highway 1A in Thu Duc District, Ho Chi Minh City.

Its cab was badly damaged as was the back of the truck in front. The driver of the dump truck had a fractured right leg and a stomach injury.

Some local residents called the Thu Duc traffic police and two hours later officers Nguyen Trong Nghia and Pham Van Hai arrived in a police car.

Tuoi Tre saw Hai asking Nguyen Van Hong, the other driver, a few cursory questions but not taking any notes or statements.

The officers also failed to do the normal tasks at the scene of an accident -- such as measuring and drawing traces, checking the scene, and examining the vehicles.

Twenty minutes later Ly Van Tai, the owner of the dump truck, arrived. Tai and Hong exhorted the officers not to seize their vehicles, saying they could settle things on their own.

Hai told Tai to call the hospital about the driver, saying he could oblige them if his injury was minor.

Tai said the driver’s thigh was broken, yet Hai let Hong drive off.

He asked Tai for the dump truck’s papers but the latter was unable to produce them.

The officers threatened to seize the vehicle and got into their car. Tai stuck his head into the car to talk with them. Tuoi Tre does not know what happened, but five minutes later the police car left.

Clearly, something was amiss. A week later Tuoi Tre spoke to Captain Do Thanh Thang, deputy chief of the Thu Duc traffic police.

He confirmed that the police records did not show this accident. He called Nguyen Trong Nghia ….

It is anyone’s guess why they failed to record the accident though a person was badly injured.

‘Two bottles’ law

Later the same day a trailer truck wrongly overtook a car on Phan Dang Luu Street in the city’s Binh Thanh District and hit it. The car’s front portion was totaled. The police seized both vehicles.

The next day two officers from the Binh Thanh traffic police, Huynh Minh Duc and Lieu Hong Loc, arrived at the accident scene.

Loc claimed to be a “very strict” officer.

The car owner demanded a compensation of VND15 million (US$714) first and then VND12 million, but Tuan, the truck owner, refused.

Loc said since the truck was at fault, if Tuan agreed to pay the compensation, the vehicles could be released.

Tuoi Tre accompanied the truck owner to the traffic police station the next day where Loc threatened to keep the vehicle and fine driver Vo Van Thang VND1.2 million for wrongful overtaking and withhold his driving license for 30 days.

Thang demurred, saying the fine was too harsh. Loc said it should actually have been VND2 million and three months, and put off the case until the next day.

The next morning Tuan, the owner, and his friend Hoang went back to the police station but Loc did not seem to be on duty.

Hoang called Duc who agreed to meet Tuan and Hoang in a café. Tuoi Tre accompanied them but did not join them at their table, instead sitting at another table close by.

Duc again threatened to withhold the license but Hoang pleaded with him not to do so and to return the vehicle immediately.

Tuoi Tre was recording their conversation.

Duc said he would “consider” a more minor charge so that the penalty could be lessened.

When they asked him how much bribe they had to pay, Duc said “three bottles.”

A “bottle” was slang for VND1 million.

“One bottle for the boss, one for me, and one for Loc.”

After taking the money from Tuan, Duc said: “Consider it as a loss in a football match.”

A little later he came to a restaurant, bringing along with him the papers for releasing the vehicle back to Tuan.

They began drinking and Duc explained to Tuan the law of the road: A driver or owner of a vehicle involved in an accident must pay the police VND2 million for getting back their vehicle and goods.

Tuan said he would have lost less time if Duc had let him know this earlier. Duc retorted that Tuan should have “spoken up” first, meaning he should have offered a bribe right away.

Though the owner of the car was not at fault, he too had to pay two “bottles,” he claimed.

Tuan asked Duc if it was possible to settle minor accidents unofficially, Duc said: “Yes. Like this case. If you had known how to ‘speak up,’ we could have closed the files.”

[jackbl]

Drug pushing, use in public places
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Le Thi Rieng Park in Ward 15, District 10 is one of the hotspots in Ho Chi Minh City. As Tuoi Tre reporters observe, 3 to 4 drug pushers operate on a 40-meter stretch of sidewalk in front of Le Thi Rieng Park, accompanied by some minders staying nearby. It is not difficult to recognize these skinny, shabbily dressed men for what they are ---their eyes constantly scanning around, keeping watch and looking for customers.

On the afternoon of June 12, within two hours, we counted a total of 17 people dealing with these pushers. The dealers, we discovered, just kept a small quantity of drugs on them, the remaining was hidden in the crack of an electricity post nearby.

The drug addicts who came to buy drugs stayed for quite a while to talk with the dealers. Sometimes, groups of 4-5 people gathered and openly injected drugs in the presence of many people around. The needles were scattered everywhere after use.

When we approached Cha Va Bridge in District 8, there was no sign of any drug dealers operating publicly. However, many addicts were openly inhaling and injecting drugs despite the many security posts under the bridge. The needles were discarded in the grass, the debris and garbage dumps on the roadside.

On June 20, two young men with a sickly complexion riding a battered old motorbike stopped in front of alley 1678 on Pham The Hien Street in District 8. The man on the back got off and walked into the alley. He gave VND50,000 (US$2.5) to one of the people standing on the riverside in exchange for a small pack and quickly went back to the bike.

The two men then speeded up to Nhi Thien Duong Bridge where they stopped to buy some needles. Seeing a police officer nearby, they rode under the bridge to park the motorbike. Then they climbed over the road separator, compounded and injected the drugs before leaving.

Drugs are also sold and taken openly in other places around the city, such as streets Nguyen Chi Thanh and Chau Van Liem in District 5, some streets in Ward 12, District 8, and Linh Xuan Bridge, Binh Phuoc Bridge, Song Than Bridge in Binh Duong Province.

Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Hoang Phong, deputy head of the Police Department of Ward 15, District 10 told us that it was not easy to solve the problem due to personnel shortage and the complex alley networks.

“We need the cooperation of other organizations to control the situation,” he said.

Drug selling on the outskirts: difficult to solve

On the afternoon of June 9, under the An Suong overpass in District 12, four addicts were standing or sitting around nervously, as if waiting for someone. A man riding a motorbike arrived, gave them small bags of drugs, received money and quickly disappeared into the chaotic flow of traffic.

After inhaling and injecting the drugs, the addicts sat on the railings, smoked cigarettes and even watched the scenery. No sooner had they left than another group arrived to take the place.

As it got darker, more and more addicts turned up on the bridge. At 6pm, we counted five groups openly selling and using drugs as if they were the only people there. The local residents here were so familiar with this scene that they just ignored them.

The drugs dealers were not exactly shy about plying their trade either. Spotting us, a man strolling along the bridge winked at us and asked if we wanted to buy drugs. A dose of drugs costs around VND100,000 to 250,000. This man also carried some needles to sell.

At noon on June 6, also at this place, we noticed four drug dealers were working at the scene. Drugs stored in nylon bags were hidden in the bushes. From 12pm to 6pm, more than 30 addicts came to buy drugs – all looking young and emaciated.

On the night of June 22, a group of young men phoned H., a drug “broker” living in Cu Chi, telling him they wanted to buy some drugs. H. led them to a small alley on Ung Van Khiem Street near Mien Dong (Eastern) bus station in Ward 25, Binh Thanh District and came out, showing them 3 kinds: ice (methamphetamine), heroin and cannabis. Ice costs VND600,000 ($29) a dose and sells like hot cakes among the youth, H. said.

Lieutenant-Colonel Nguyen Huu Tai, chief of police of Ba Diem Commune, Hoc Mon District told us they could only apply administrative penalty to first-time drug dealers and users if they were not local people.

Arrested the second time, these persons would be subjected to public criticism in front of the people where they live.

When the dealers or users carry no identification and do not cooperate with the officers, the task of identifying their residency becomes more complex.

If caught the third time, they will be sent to rehabilitation centers, said the Lieutenant-Colonel.

[jackbl]

Hope can try this soon

Preparing mesmerizing Mi Quang is no easy feat
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Quang Nam Province is famous for mi Quang (Quang noodle) and visitors to the province will be asked to try the tasty dish.

But it is no simple feat. When making a tasty bowl of mi Quang, cooks need to be patient and meticulous in many phases.

To have slight, soft and white noodle strings, you need to wash the rice carefully then husk them into flour. The rice flour then will be steamed as paper cakes and finally the cakes will be sliced into regular strings.

The soup for the dish is often made of pork, beef or chicken. However, in this rainy season, locals often catch loc fish to make the soup. The fish will be cleaned then cut into small pieces and mixed with spices. Fish bones and heads will be grinded and boiled in the soup water with the fish for a sweet taste.

To get the most out of the dish, you should enjoy it with many kinds of aromatic vegetables, dry pancakes and green chilly.

The delightful dish is so tasty due to the sweetness of the fish, the fragrance of aromatic vegetables and the crispy pancakes.